Herman Takes Stand In Trial

Mark Herman put his life in Alfonso Sepe`s hands believing the lawyer knew best how to defend him against a charge of murder.

Looking back on how the trial unfolded eight years ago, Sepe did not deserve such trust, Herman testified Tuesday.

``I was very ignorant of the law,`` Herman said at the West Palm Beach hearing. ``I had no idea that Mr. Sepe did such a terrible job as has been shown to me the past couple of days here.``

Herman`s new lawyers have accused Sepe of presenting an incompetent defense at the February 1978 trial. They are asking Circuit Judge William C. Owen Jr. to grant the former karate instructor, who admittedly has had other, less serious scrapes with the law, a new trial.

The last time Herman appeared in the West Palm Beach courthouse, another judge sentenced him to life in prison for the 1976 shotgun slaying of Palm Beach oil executive Richard Kreusler.

Herman maintains jailhouse witnesses framed him to help their own legal situations.

From the day they met, Herman said, he told Sepe the state`s key piece of evidence -- the alleged handwritten confession -- was a forgery drafted by fellow jail inmate Dexter Coffin.

``I told him it was a forgery and I wanted an outside expert to analyze it,`` Herman said. ``I begged him to.``

``Our agreement from the outset of this, was I was to trust Mr. Sepe explicitly and put my life in his hands. And I was to do whatever he advised,`` Herman said. ``And that`s exactly what I did, sir.``

Sepe, now an ailing Dade County judge, chose not to call any defense witnesses at trial.

And Sepe apparently consulted only with the prosecutor`s handwriting experts, who said they could not be sure whether or not Herman authored the alleged confession.

Prosecutor Richard Barlow questioned Herman about why he never told the trial judge he was unhappy with Sepe`s trial performance and, in fact, once labeled Sepe`s representation ``fantastic.``

``I was fighting for my life. I was trying to stay out of the electric chair. That was my only concern,`` Herman said.

In their efforts to show that Sepe`s defense of Herman was inept, defense attorneys Joe Mincberg and Richard Lubin are in effect re-trying the case in the hearing which may last an two additional days.

The lawyers are putting on testimony they believe would have ensured Herman an acquittal had Sepe called the same witnesses and espoused the same theories at trial.

A former FBI handwriting expert, Richard Casey, testified Tuesday he is certain Herman did not write the confession.

``It is my opinion the person who did prepare (the alleged confession) was making some overt attempt to copy the style and characteristics of Mark Herman`s known writing,`` Casey said. ``Within a reasonable scientific probablity Dexter Coffin is the author of the documents.``

Coffin made a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his trial testimony against Herman. Coffin later publicly announced he lied at the trial about Herman`s involvement, but then reversed himself again a year ago.

``Is it a good forgery?`` Barlow asked.

``No, it`s not a good forgery,`` Casey said. ``As far as duplicating Mark Herman`s handwriting it is a lousy forgery. I find it hard to believe that any trained document examiner would not reach the same conclusion.``

During the trial, the state maintained Herman had intended to kill Kreusler`s neighbor Billy Glocker because of a soured drug deal. They said Herman got the wrong house.

As Herman testified Tuesday, Glocker sat listening in the gallery with his mother. During a recess, Glocker`s mother shook hands with Herman`s mother and said she believes Herman is innocent.